At this time, we're not accepting submissions as our editorial calendar is currently full. We'll reopen submissions on March 1, 2019.

Submission Guidelines

Risen Motherhood equips, encourages, and challenges moms to apply the gospel to their everyday lives. We’re for the imperfect mother—the one still learning, still growing, and still recognizing she doesn’t have it all together—who longs to behold the God who does.

Each article on our site equips a mom to apply truth by exploring a clear topic relating to motherhood and the gospel. Our articles are primarily “think pieces” that help women consider gospel application in their own lives. Through welcoming and clear language, they remind moms of their freedom in Christ, striking a balance between challenging theological content and relatability for seasoned and new believers alike.

RM Tone

Imagine you’re sitting next to your friend on the couch with steaming cups of coffee in hand. You share the struggles of motherhood with each other—your exhaustion from being up three times in the night with a sick baby, her worries about her husband’s parenting skills, and the plaguing late-afternoon loneliness you both experience. The weariness is heavy, but the hopeful promises of Jesus are bright. Now...write.

Our ministry’s tone is gentle and encouraging, meeting moms right where they’re at. We sit on the same side of the table, looking at our sins, circumstances, aspirations, and struggles—resolving to follow Jesus in the midst of it all. With this tone, we pair deep theological truths with relatable, empathetic language.

Just like we don’t try to impress our friends with hard-to-understand jargon, steer away from difficult vocabulary or excessive prose. Seek to explain deep, beautiful concepts in natural ways. Motherhood and life choices are full of complexity, nuance, and gray areas, so unless you’re a seasoned mother or grandmother, humbly acknowledge the limitations of your experiences while gently discipling your fellow mom in the gospel. Hold firmly to the clear truths of scripture, but be charitable where practical application is less universal.

Writing Tips for RM Tone and Style

Use active voice, not passive.

Passive voice: God has given us the grace we need, so we start everyday with new mercies.

Active voice: We start everyday with new mercies because God gives the grace we need.

Use contractions to maintain simplicity.

Original: I am learning to apply the gospel to every part of my life.

Contraction: I’m learning to apply the gospel to every part of my life.

Use “we” language where possible.

Personal blog tone: When I mother from a place of peace, I cultivate…

RM Article tone: When we mother from a place of peace, we cultivate...

Frame sentences in the positive, not the negative.

Negative: A devotional is not a Bible study.

Positive: Bible studies are different than devotionals.

Clear language will help the reader understand your point.

If it’s possible to cut a word, do it.

Shy away from colloquialisms and difficult vocabulary. If possible, use a common English equivalent.

Refrain from lists of how-tos and overly practical advice.

Make room for nuance and complexity.

Definitive statement: Moms who use a lot of their “free time” for exercise idolize their body image.

Nuance and complexity: Exercise can be a great way to glorify God, gaining energy to serve him and be good stewards of our bodies. It can also become something we worship and value too much. It’s about the heart.

Applying the Gospel

We use the creation-fall-redemption-consummation model to guide a mom through application of the gospel.

This gospel application process is not easy. It requires an understanding of theology and the ability to articulate hard-to-grasp truths in an easy-to-understand way. (We recommend reading the articles on our website to see strong examples of this type of writing.) Storytelling helps a reader connect to your piece, meeting a mom where she’s at, but your article should strike an approximate 30/70 balance between personal narrative (30%) and gospel application (70%). Personal blogs are often great platforms for emotive first-person narratives, life lessons, and practical how-to’s, but articles with gospel application transcend culture, lifestyle, and personal experience. Write to serve the reader with the beautiful good news.

Editing process

We respond to all submitted pieces within 6-8 weeks. We turn down pieces for a variety of reasons—sometimes our editorial calendar is full, sometimes we already have a post on that topic in the queue; sometimes we’re aware of timing with other RM content, holidays, or commemorative months. Sometimes, it’s simply because the piece doesn’t match the RM Submissions Guidelines. If we can’t publish your piece, we’ll let you know as soon as possible so you can submit or publish it elsewhere. We understand that writing takes a lot of time, heart, and effort!

If your article is under consideration and on the way to being published, our editorial team will review and return your article with clearly marked changes for your approval.

Once approved, our editorial team may change your title and add a subtitle without seeking your permission. Because we plan ahead, it might be 1-3 months from final edits to website publish date. Once your article is published on our site, we ask that you wait three months before submitting the same piece elsewhere and include a note that it originally appeared at RM.

Topic Ideas

We plan our general editorial calendar 4-6 months in advance, so please consider topics that may be relevant during future holiday seasons, liturgical calendar periods, seasonal changes (ie. going back to school, letting out for the summer, etc.), commemorative days/months, and so on. We’ll give a higher priority and consideration to topics and perspectives that haven’t been covered on our site, but we’re happy to consider anything related to motherhood and the gospel. Here’s some highly-requested, rarely covered topics:

Intimacy in marriage

Financial responsibility

Technology

Divorce

Remarriage, step-parenting

Single motherhood

Racial reconciliation

Work

Death

First-generation mothering as a Christian

These are always good topics that our readers love:

Self-care

Body image

Friendship / loneliness

The work / responsibilities of the home

Submission

Please email your full article, formatted according to RM style and tone guidelines, as a Word Doc attachment to submissions@risenmotherhood.com. Your article document should include a working title, subtitle, and a brief 3-5 sentence bio. Feel free to link to your personal blog, book, and/or social media accounts in your bio.